You Don't Need a Miracle
by TakingItOutOnTheWall
Summary: "I was so alone, and I owe you so much…" The woman interrupted, she spoke calmly, smirking as she added "But you don't need a miracle." When a mysterious stranger who bares a striking resemblance to John's dead flatmate turns up at 221B John's life is, once again, turned completely on its head. Post-Reichenbach. Eventual Johnlock and Molly/OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Sherlock.

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Chapter 1

John had woken from a nightmare, which was why he was awake to hear the doorbell ring at one in the morning. _What could anyone possibly want at one in the bloody morning!_ John thought as he got up to get the door. He had tried ignoring it at first in the hope that whoever it was would just give up and assume that he was asleep but they were very persistent, it was almost as though they knew he was actually awake. But that was ridiculous.

"What do you want?" John exclaimed angrily as he violently pulled the door open, he would normally make an attempt to be more polite but he didn't particularly feel he was capable of the usual pleasantries at one in the morning.

"Hello Doctor Watson." The woman at the door was young, maybe in her late twenties and she distinctly reminded John of... No, he wasn't going to think about it. It was too painful to think about what had happened nearly two years ago. Besides it was probably just a coincidence that she looked like... _No!_ John thought. _Stop that train of thought right now. It's probably just your mind playing tricks on you._

"What do you want?" John repeated grouchily. "It's one in the morning!"  
"I have a message for you."

_Who gets their bloody messages delivered in person at one in the morning?_ John wondered. _And why a message for me? Maybe when he was alive it might have happened but... I suppose it could be Mycroft, it's the sort of thing he would do, but what could he have to say to me!_

"It's one in the morning!" John repeated. "Couldn't it have waited? No normal person is awake right now!"  
"I was asked to deliver the message now and was reliably informed that you were, in fact, already awake."  
"It's Mycroft isn't it, he must have surveillance cameras in the flat again." John swore under his breath. "But I don't see why I would need to know... whatever this is, least of all at one in the _bloody_ morning!"  
"It's not Mycroft." The woman gave a one sided smile, the same way as... _NO, not going to think about it.  
_"Although Mycroft does have surveillance cameras in your flat."  
"I _bloody _knew it!" John swore. "What do you want anyway?"  
"As I have already informed you multiple times, I have a message to deliver."  
"Then deliver it so I can go back to bed! It's one in the…"  
"I was so alone and I owe you so much..." The woman interrupted, she spoke calmly, smirking as she added, "But you don't need a miracle."

John froze in shock as he recognized his own words being quoted at him.  
"What does that... How do you..." John mumbled, his words incoherent. "Who are you anyway?"  
"A friend, I suppose." The woman replied in an amused tone as she turned to leave. "You'll be hearing more from me. Well, it's not really from me, I just agreed to be the messenger, he does love to be dramatic." She turned to smile in a self-satisfied way. It was a smile that said 'I know something that you don't'. A smile that John recognized, a smile he had once been used to seeing.

"Wait!" John exclaimed, apparently he had regained the ability to speak. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"You'll find out soon enough." The infuriating grin reappeared. "I'll be seeing you very soon."

And with that the woman walked away leaving John more confused than ever. _What on earth is going on?_ John wondered as he turned round to head back inside.

It wasn't until John reached the top of the stairs that the thought occurred to him. What did she mean by 'You don't need a miracle'? Because if she was quoting what he had said that would mean... _No don't even think it. He's dead. You know he's dead. You watched him fall, no one could survive that. Not even he could survive that. It's completely impossible!_

John eventually fell asleep in an armchair in the living room feeling utterly confused by it all: the late night visit, the message, who could be behind this and the stranger who, in both looks and manners, bore a striking resemblance to Sherlock Holmes. _I'm going mad._ John thought as he drifted on the verge of sleep. _I've finally lost it._

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Okay thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review. Next chapter will be up soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Thank you to the people who followed the story, it's nice to know that people want to know what happens next. I should probably mention that the Johnlock stuff is coming a bit later on in the story, Sherlock and John don't realize that they're in love yet and they have to get past revealing that Sherlock's alive first.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Sherlock. That honour belongs to John. ;)

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Chapter 2

The graveyard. Come at once if convenient.  
AH

If inconvenient, come anyway.  
AH

Who is this?  
JW

Your new friend.  
AH

What new friend?  
JW

We met last week. You felt it necessary to keep reminding me of the time.  
AH

Are you the one who woke me up at one in the morning?  
JW

I told you at the time that I'd been reliably informed that you were already awake.  
AH

I still don't know who you are. I don't even know your name. Why should I go to the graveyard anyway?  
JW

Could be dangerous.  
AH

"You're sure he'll come?" The woman asked as she put the phone in her pocket.  
"Of course he'll come Arleigh." Sherlock replied in a bored voice.  
"Why should he? After all you just had me send him a text saying 'Could be dangerous'." She paused. "Most people would take that as a threat."  
"John isn't 'most people'."  
"No, I don't suppose he is, you wouldn't like him if he was normal."  
"Why should I? Normal's dull."  
"So you've been telling me for the last twenty-eight years."  
"And you have always agreed with me. Anyway, John will want to know what's going on. He'll have recognized the texts and what you told him last week, he'll want to find out how you knew about it all."  
"Well, you know him better than I do."  
"Of course I do..."

The phone rang, interrupting the flow of the conversation. Arleigh sighed as she reached into the pocket of her jeans for the phone, sighing again when she saw who was calling.

"Hello Mycroft," She answered not bothering to hide the bored tone.  
"I know what the two of you are going to do and I think you should be aware that I thoroughly disagree with your methods."  
"It's not my plan!" Arleigh exclaimed, seemingly outraged. "I simply agreed to assist. You should have called Sherlock!"  
"Sherlock wouldn't have answered a call from me. You, at least, can usually be relied upon _not_ to ignore my phone calls."  
"Do you want me to let him know? He won't listen to you."  
"I know Sherlock won't listen but at least I've tried."  
"When did you realise what was going on?"  
"I realized you were planning something when the two of you hacked the surveillance footage of 221B and you turned up there, but I wasn't sure of the details until you texted John ten minutes ago."  
"If you've bugged my phone so you can read my texts I will make you regret it." Arleigh said quickly in a voice that showed she was very serious about her threat.  
"That won't be necessary. It's John's phone that has been hacked not yours."  
"Why?"  
"Why have I hacked John's phone? I decided it would help me to keep an eye on Sherlock when they were living together."

"What does he want?" Sherlock snapped, tired of being ignored.  
"He wants you to know that he 'thoroughly disagrees with your methods' in this situation. And I think you should know that he hacked John's phone in order to spy on you when you were living together."  
"Tell _Mycroft_ that he should keep his nose out of other people's business."

"Sherlock says he's going to change all his plans and let you organize everything for him for the rest of his life because he has realized that you are far more capable of this than he is." Arleigh smiled at Sherlock's fuming expression.  
"Are you two ever going to start behaving like grown ups? You're behaviour is simply childish!" Mycroft sounded exasperated. "And I'm not stupid, I know Sherlock would never say that, I assume he made some comment about how I should stay out of his business."  
"I think you know that the probability of us starting to act like adults at any point in the near future is rather low. As for what Sherlock actually said he was extremely unoriginal and said you should keep your nose out of other people's business."  
"I'm sure you were most disappointed that he wasn't more interesting."  
"Of course, that's why I decided to improvise."

"What's he saying?" Sherlock snapped, his irritation at being left out of the conversation showing in his voice.

Arleigh gave an exasperated sigh. "I might as well just put you on speakerphone Mycroft, I refuse to act as mediator between the two of you."

"No! Don't do that!" Sherlock exclaimed. "I don't want to talk to him!"  
"How lovely to know that I'm appreciated, _dear_ brother." Mycroft's sarcastic voice came from the phone.  
"Why would you do that Arleigh!" Sherlock glared at the woman who simply smirked back at him.  
"You should know that I completely disapprove of this, Sherlock." Mycroft continued.  
"I don't need your approval, _Mycroft_." Sherlock spat out the words. "Besides how else should I let John know that I'm alive?"  
"My point is that you aren't exactly known for being subtle, you could give John a heart attack when he is suddenly confronted by a man he believes has been dead for nearly two years and I don't want to have to deal with that."  
"There's no need to worry, _Mycroft_, Arleigh's helping me."  
"Arleigh isn't much better!"

"You aren't exactly an expert on dealing with feelings either Mycroft!" Arleigh countered obviously insulted. "Besides, John's not supposed to see Sherlock for some time yet. _I'm_ the only one who's going to talk to him today."  
"Well, if you are insistent on going ahead with your plan then you had better get ready, John will be arriving at the graveyard where Sherlock is supposedly buried in approximately six minutes. I assume that is where you meant for him to go?"  
"Yes, now go Arleigh!" Sherlock ordered. "You need to be there when he arrives!"  
"Alright! I'm going, I'm going!" Arleigh replied as Sherlock shoved her towards the door and forced her into a coat.  
"SHERLOCK! I said I was going!" Arleigh shouted to the detective as he pushed her out of the door.

_He is so difficult to deal with sometimes, how I've survived him for twenty-eight years I do not know._ Arleigh wondered as she walked across the road towards the graveyard. _No, no, that's not true I do know that, it's because I'm so much like him that I understand him. Besides, it's not like I have much choice. I have to put up with him._

Once in the graveyard she turned and headed towards one particular grave. The grave marked 'Sherlock Holmes'. Seeing the gravestone gave her a strange feeling, a sort of sad, anxious feeling in her stomach. _He's not really dead, I was talking to him just now!_ Arleigh thought to herself. _Stop being stupid Arleigh, you know for a fact that Sherlock is alive so you shouldn't be worried by a gravestone with his name on it, it's irrational!_ It still didn't make the feeling go away though.

"I was right then." A voice came from behind Arleigh and she looked over her shoulder to see John Watson striding towards her. "The messages were all linked to Sherlock so when you said graveyard I guessed it must be..." He trailed off, uncertain of himself as the pain he felt from Sherlock's suicide returned to him.

Arleigh closed her eyes taking an almost entirely unnoticeable moment to regain her senses and berate herself for being too preoccupied by her strange feelings towards the existence of Sherlock's grave to notice John's arrival. Then she turned to face John hiding her emotions behind what was hopefully a mysterious smile.  
"Hello again, John."  
"Umm... Yes... Hello..."  
"I can answer some of your questions this time, if you would like."  
"So you aren't going to be all mysterious again with your cheekbones and not giving answers that make any sense?"  
"Well I can't tell you everything." Arleigh replied, then added, confusion evident in her voice, "And I can't get rid of my cheekbones, although what they have to do with being mysterious I don't know."  
"Sorry, old habit..."  
"Well then, do you have any questions? I'm assuming you do."  
"Oh... Questions... Umm… Yes, who are you?"  
"Arleigh, Arleigh Holmes."  
"So you're related to Sherlock? You look a lot like him, I thought I was going mad."  
"Oh?"  
"Yes, you both have that dark, curly hair and ridiculously pale skin and those cheekbones and you're tall and, I couldn't see it before because it was dark but you have the same eyes as him too..." He trailed off. "Sorry, that was too much... Sorry."  
"No need to apologize. I'm already aware that I bare a very strong resemblance to Sherlock. Although I am curious as to why this made you think that you were going mad."  
"Oh, well I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, making me think you looked like him. I didn't really know about any of his relatives except for Mycroft."  
"I see." Arleigh replied. "I suppose you thought that Sherlock wasn't very close to the rest of his family then?"  
"Umm... Yes, I did. Were you close?"  
"Very." Then, seeing the look of confusion on John's face, she added, "I'm his sister."  
"Sherlock had a sister?! He never mentioned you!"  
"Has," Arleigh corrected him. "I'm still here aren't I."  
"Yes, but Sherlock isn't."

Arleigh smirked at John. _He is just going to get even more confused. This is actually quite fun. I suppose it comes from the need to overdramatize events._ Out loud she replied, "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" John asked, frowning. "Sherlock's dead! I saw him jump off the roof of the hospital! He's dead!" John was shouting by now making Arleigh very glad that the part of the graveyard they were in was completely empty, except for them.

"And what did you mean last week by 'You don't need a miracle'?" John continued at the same volume. "How did you know what I said then anyway? There was no one else there, no one could have heard what I said... He's dead!" John yelled, then seeming to realize where he was again lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "He's dead!"

"What it all means," Arleigh replied, still smirking, "is that Sherlock may not be quite as dead as you believe."  
"What?! That's impossible! You're either dead or you're not and Sherlock is most definitely dead!" John wasn't quite yelling this time but his voice was raised and his body language indicated that he was angry and upset.

"Wrong." Said a familiar, deep voice coming from behind John.

John froze in shock before turning slowly to face the tall, slender form of Sherlock Holmes.

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Thanks for reading, please review. Reviews would make me very happy :)


	3. Chapter 3

Top of Form

Thank you to everyone who followed or favourited the story :D It's nice to know people are interested in it. I also want to (finally) say a big thank you to my friend Flo for reading the story first and encouraging me to keep writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sherlock, John does.

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Chapter 3

_"Wrong." Said a familiar, deep voice coming from behind John._

John froze in shock before turning slowly to face the tall, slender form of Sherlock Holmes.

**xXx**

"No" John muttered quietly then louder, "No! You're dead! You are dead!"  
"John." Sherlock said calmly. "I know I seemed to be dead but you have to believe that I'm really here."  
"No you're not!" John shouted. "You are dead! And I'm just seeing things, I'm actually going mad! Or else this is just some stupid dream and I'm going to wake up and you'll still be dead."  
"This isn't a dream John." Sherlock replied in a worried tone. "I'm really here."  
"Well if this isn't a dream then I'm going mad because there is no way that you can be here! I saw you fall and there is no way you could have survived that! I saw your dead body afterwards and you had no pulse! You were definitely dead and you are buried right here!"  
"John, when you went to my grave after the fall you said 'Don't be dead' so on some level you must have believed that there was a possibility that I could still be alive."  
"I was in denial! It's one of the stages of grief!" John laughed at that. "See, even in my imagination you still don't understand feelings."  
"John." Sherlock's voice sounded pained. "I'm really alive, it's ok."  
"No it's not ok!" John yelled. "I've finally lost it and I'm imagining that you're here talking to me, nothing about this is ok! I need to leave, I should go home, yes that's a good idea..." By now John was talking more to himself than to anyone else.

"John, he is real." Arleigh said, finally contributing to the conversation. "Does that help at all?"  
"No, not really." John replied. "I've probably imagined you as well, after all, Sherlock never mentioned having a sister."

Arleigh reached out, grabbing John's arm. He looked up in shock at being able to feel the contact.

"Maybe you are real then..." John muttered. "But I still don't believe that he is..."  
"It really is him John."  
"It can't be..."  
"It is really me." Sherlock said, reaching out to John.

John stood there staring at Sherlock for a moment. "No," He whispered again as he pulled away from Arleigh, "it isn't... I should just go..." And with that he turned and ran out of the graveyard.

"JOHN!" Sherlock shouted after him. He would have run after him but Arleigh held him back.  
"Sherlock, that's enough." Her words were quiet but firm and had the desired effect on Sherlock. _Have I lost him now?_ Sherlock wondered despondently as he watched John run away, not looking back even once.

**xXx**

"What was that about?" Arleigh yelled at Sherlock the minute the door shut. "The plan was meant to be that we gave John plenty of hints to get him used to the idea that you might not be dead before he actually saw you again! You weren't meant to just turn up and give him the fright of his life so soon! But no, you're Sherlock and you don't even think about that!"  
"I don't understand!" Sherlock said, ignoring his sister. "Why doesn't he believe that I'm alive?! All the evidence points towards it! So why can't he see..."  
"SHUT UP, SHERLOCK!"

The screamed words from his sister made Sherlock freeze for a moment, in the middle of pacing around the room and he turned to face her.

"Good, that's better." Arleigh said more calmly. "You are completely overlooking the fact that John saw you jump off that building. As evidence goes I would say that was pretty strong evidence that you were really dead, wouldn't you?"  
"Yes, but it was fake, I didn't really commit suicide! And besides, committing suicide for the reasons he believes I did goes completely against everything he knows about me!"  
"Yes, it may have been a fake suicide, but it was a fake suicide staged by _you._ I know you well enough to know that you must have planned it so that even you would have been convinced!"  
"Well I had to make sure that there could be no doubt that I was dead."  
"Exactly, John truly believes that he saw you commit suicide two years ago, it's no wonder that he thinks he's going mad when you turn up, very much alive, when you're meant to be in a coffin in the ground! We already know he's been having nightmares about the fall for the last two years..."  
"Nearly two years." Sherlock interrupted.  
"Really Sherlock?! You want to concentrate on that?! I'm sure that will help convince John that he isn't going mad!"  
"It's hardly my fault..."  
"Yes it is!" Arleigh's disbelief at his statement was obvious. She turned and walked towards the door.  
"Where are you going?!"  
"To get Mycroft."  
"Why?! He'll just get in the way!"  
"Because he has more chance of getting John to believe him than either of us do and, whilst he isn't an expert on emotions either, he has more experience of dealing with them than both of us combined."  
"You could just ring him."  
"Well maybe I want to get away from my idiotic brother who can't even follow his own plan." Arleigh said as she stormed out of the building.

_Fine_, thought Sherlock, _I'm alone, that's fine. Perfect in fact. I prefer being alone._ But he couldn't help his mind wandering back to the fact that he had always enjoyed John's company. That was why he had changed his mind about staying in the flat whilst Arleigh talked to John. He had wanted to get closer so he'd snuck out and hidden close by to hear the conversation. And then he couldn't help himself. When John had started denying that he was alive he couldn't continue to let him believe that. _Admit it, you missed him. And you didn't like seeing him in pain._ Sherlock couldn't stop the traitorous thoughts. _Sentiment is a chemical defect found on the loosing side. Caring is not an advantage, Sherlock._ That last thought sounded uncomfortably like Mycroft. _Although you're a bit past caring by now aren't you Sherlock._

**xXx**

"If you had just let me handle the situation this would never have happened."  
"Oh shut up, _Mycroft_." Sherlock snapped. Mycroft had been expressing this same thought in just about every possible variant available ever since he had entered the building seventeen, no eighteen minutes ago. _Just get on with it,_ Sherlock thought, _you're meant to be helping not telling me why I should have let you deal with 'the situation' in the beginning._

"As much as I hate to admit it he is probably right, Sherlock."  
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Arleigh."  
"I know you didn't I just happen to feel that the discussion would move on much sooner if Mycroft were to stop repeating himself, and the only way that's going to happen is if someone agrees with him. You're never going to do that so I may as well."

There was a moment of silence and Arleigh looked back and forth between her brothers expectantly. When neither of them said anything she gave an exasperated groan.

"Fine, if the two of you refuse to start a conversation I will." She turned to Mycroft. "Sherlock needs your help because he ruined the previous plans and now John thinks he's going mad. Do you think you can help resolve the situation?"  
"We'll have to tread carefully," Mycroft replied, glaring at Sherlock. "But I'll see what I can do."

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Please review, I'd love some feedback.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the wait. I'm going to start uploading chapters weekly from now on so expect chapter 5 next week.

Thank you to everyone who has followed or favourited the story and thank you xSommerRegen for reviewing.

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Sherlock.

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Chapter 4

"It's true John. Sherlock really is alive." Mycroft spoke calmly as though he was merely commenting on the weather rather than delivering earth shattering news.

"That's impossible." John said, only just managing to stay calm. "Sherlock's dead. I watched him fall. Not even he could survive that. He was definitely dead. How would he even... Why?!"  
"I really think it would be best to let Sherlock explain all that himself."

John stared at the infuriating man sitting opposite him, trying to figure out whether this was really happening. _It can't be._ John thought. _But Mycroft never jokes about anything, certainly not something like this._

**xXx**

In the week since the graveyard incident, as he had taken to calling it, John had been preoccupied with the event. He tried not to think about it too much but he couldn't help himself. Of course he couldn't, for almost two years his greatest wish had been for Sherlock to not be dead. So after supposedly seeing Sherlock he couldn't help but hope that it was all true and his friend was really alive. That was impossible though, and John knew that all too well.

When John had returned to 221B after the graveyard incident he had eventually managed to calm down enough to think clearly. If the woman he'd spoken to was real and she had been able to see Sherlock then he couldn't have imagined the whole thing. But if he hadn't imagined it then what had happened? Sherlock was dead, definitely dead. But there must have been someone there, unless he'd been drugged. But he would have noticed that, wouldn't he? The woman hadn't really had an opportunity to drug him and even if she had she couldn't have been certain that he would see exactly what she wanted him to.

So what had actually happened? Was it all some kind of cruel joke? It didn't seem possible, after all, whoever planned this would have needed to have had John under surveillance for years. And then somehow have managed to find and hire two people who both looked so remarkably like Sherlock.

But, the only other explanation that he could think of that really made any sense at all was that it was all true. Which was completely impossible. So John had decided that it must be some kind of twisted joke. A cruel hoax orchestrated by someone who had apparently thought it would be funny to drive John completely mad.

So when Mycroft had turned up at Baker Street a week after the event the last thing John had expected was for him to confirm that Sherlock was really alive.

**xXx**

"So you really have a sister?" John asked after having been silent for some time, it was by far the least significant point but he felt it would be easier to tackle this first whilst he absorbed the information that his supposedly dead best friend had, in fact, been alive the whole time.  
"Yes." Mycroft confirmed. "Arleigh is twenty-eight and almost as troublesome as Sherlock, between them they give me as much cause for concern as the affairs of the country."  
"Why did he do it?"  
"I really think Sherlock ought to tell you that himself."  
"How long have you known?"  
"How long have I known what?" Mycroft inquired although it was obvious he knew exactly what John was asking.  
"How long have you known that Sherlock was alive?"  
"I was informed of my brother's continued existence three weeks after he faked his suicide."  
"So he trusted the person who gave Moriarty the ammunition to frame him but not me." John muttered, feeling betrayed.  
"I didn't say that it was Sherlock who told me, John."  
"Who did then?"  
"My mother did."  
"So Sherlock told her."  
"Sherlock told three people: Arleigh, our mother and Molly Hooper. I was informed by our mother because she knew Sherlock needed my help."  
"Wait! What... Molly?! Why did he tell Molly?!"  
"Who did you think helped him fake his suicide?"

John fell silent. _He trusted Molly but not me._ He thought bitterly. _Sherlock didn't trust me to help him and then let me think he was dead for nearly two years. No, he made me think he was dead!_ The thought made John's blood boil. _Sherlock made me go through hell for almost two years thinking he was dead!_

"I'm going to kill him." John said seriously.  
"Although I fully understand why you would feel like that I would really rather you didn't, it would be most inconvenient." Mycroft replied casually.  
"He made me think he was dead! I had to live for nearly two years thinking that he was dead!" John said, raising his voice. "I am going to kill Sherlock!"

The doorbell rang cutting off John's fuming.

"You might want to get that." Mycroft said, not seeming at all surprised.

John looked at the man opposite him and a feeling of apprehension swept over him. It seemed almost as though Mycroft had expected the doorbell to ring. Which meant he probably knew who was at the door. John studied Mycroft in an attempt to gain any information he possibly could from him. When the doorbell rang for a second time John sighed and stood up, giving up his unsuccessful attempt to glean anything from Mycroft.

_Did I just try and deduce Mycroft?!_ John wondered to himself as he descended the stairs to answer the door. _Well that was pointless, Mycroft never gives anything away._ Reaching the door John opened it and froze. Sherlock stood in the doorway.

"Hello John." Sherlock said in his deep voice.

John studied the taller man for a minute, taking in every detail of his friend. As the anger he felt towards him built up John clenched his fist.

"Hello Sherlock." John replied grimly before punching him in the face.

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Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok then, here's chapter 5. Thanks to everyone who followed or favourited and thanks to Talking to my muffin for reviewing.

Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 5

"You absolute bastard!" John yelled. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?!"

Sherlock looked up at the fuming doctor from where he was sitting on the sofa in 221B. He nursed his bruised cheek as he studied John, taking in every detail to deduce the doctor. _Hasn't slept properly for at least a week - he's been preoccupied by what happened in the graveyard. Didn't shave today - wasn't planning on going out. Easily angered - upset._ Sherlock's mind kept on going.

"And then you just turn up out of nowhere and make me think I'm going mad! You made me go through hell! I thought you were dead! Why the _hell_ did you do that?! Why, Sherlock?!"  
"I had too, John."  
"You have a reason do you?! Well it had better be a bloody good one!"  
"I had no choice."  
"You always have a bloody choice!"  
"No I didn't."  
"Why?! You lied to me and then jumped off a building... Or did you?! I don't know how you did it..."  
"Moriarty was up there."  
"What?! And he made you do it? How? Why?"  
"If I were to commit suicide people would believe I was a fake and had killed myself when the story came out. It was the perfect end for his story."  
"You're avoiding explaining how he made you do that! He must have done something!"

Sherlock shifted uncomfortably. He muttered something but it was far too quiet to be heard.

John sighed. "You do know I can't actually hear you, Sherlock."  
"Moriarty threatened you."

John froze. He stared at Sherlock in disbelief.

"And Mrs Hudson. And Lestrade." Sherlock continued. "He had snipers on you. If they didn't see me jump they would have killed all three of you."

John was silent, he stared at his friend as though he had never seen him before.

"I couldn't make him call off the assassins, he shot himself in the head so I couldn't force him to change his mind. They _had_ to think I was dead."  
"You did that to protect me." John whispered. "And Mrs Hudson and Lestrade." He swiftly added.

"Yes."

Sherlock felt uncomfortable under the intense gaze. He knew his actions showed sentiment. He had acted out of sentiment and the admission made him feel vulnerable. _Is this how normal people feel?_ He wondered. _Is this what they have to put up with?_ He could see John thinking it all over.

"Hang on!" Sherlock could see John coming to a realisation. "You planned it. You _knew_ that was going to happen but you didn't tell me."  
"I didn't know that I would definitely have to."  
"You still didn't tell me! You could have told me that it might happen! Or right afterwards, you could have told me then! But instead you waited almost two years to tell me you were alive and then made me think I was loosing my mind when you did!"  
"I had to make sure there was no way that they could find out I was alive. Contacting you would have put you at risk. I had to track down Moriarty's web to eliminate any possible threat." Sherlock was confused. _Why doesn't John understand? I did it to protect him?_  
"You can't do that, Sherlock! You can't make everyone think you're dead and then just run off for two years!"  
"I had too."  
"You know what, you should just leave."  
"But John..."  
"No, Sherlock. I need space. I need to think about all of this."

Sherlock was about to protest but Mycroft decided to step in before he had a chance.

"Sherlock, we're imposing upon John's hospitality. We should be leaving. Goodbye, John."

Mycroft firmly pulled his brother up and out of his chair before Sherlock could start another argument, receiving an indignant glare from the detective for his trouble.

**xXx**

"What was that for?" Sherlock asked in an irritable tone once the two men had left the building and were in a car.  
"John wanted you to leave and you were in danger of angering him even more if you had stayed. You do want him to forgive you, don't you?"  
"Why should you care about that."  
"Because, _dear brother_, you need John. He protects you and..."  
"I do not 'need' John!" Sherlock interrupted. "And I am perfectly capable of looking after myself."  
"Of course you are. That's why Mummy had to tell me you were alive three weeks after the fall."  
"I didn't ask for your help."  
"That doesn't mean you didn't need it."

Sherlock turned away from his brother and stared out of the window. _Hateful weather._ He thought gloomily looking at the blue sky and bright sun. _Stupid sun._ John would probably have rolled his eyes at how Sherlock was complaining when the weather was actually nice for once. But John wasn't here. John had sent him away. John didn't want to talk to him. Sherlock scowled at the window. _Why won't he talk to me? I had to pretend to be dead. Can't he see that I did it for him?! Would he rather I'd let Moriarty's assassins kill him and the others?! Why is he so angry?_ These questions went round and round in Sherlock's head and it bothered him that he couldn't answer them.

"So, Sherlock, it would seem that I was right." Mycroft's smug statement was an unwelcome interruption to Sherlock's train of thought and he glared at him in response.  
"Right about what exactly?" Sherlock snapped.  
"John's reaction to seeing you again. I told you he was going to be angry with you. You never could understand emotions."  
"You're hardly an expert in that area either, _Mycroft_."  
"Need I remind you that I do have more experience than you, _dear brother_."

Sherlock scowled but remained silent, knowing that Mycroft was right but refusing to admit it out loud.

The rest of the journey passed in silence until they reached the hotel where Sherlock was staying. Sherlock got out of the car without a word and entered the building ignoring everyone he passed until he reached his room. He closed the door and lay on the bed, steepling his hands under his chin to think.

_He's angry, he wanted me to tell him I was alive earlier. I know he was upset after I 'died' but I couldn't tell him I was alive then. But he knows now. So why is he still angry?_ Sherlock couldn't think of anything, he really wasn't good at understanding feelings. _Sentiment._ He thought scornfully. _A chemical defect, a dangerous disadvantage._ But he knew that it was sentiment that had made him save the lives of John and Mrs Hudson and Lestrade. He hated to admit it but he did care. And it bothered him that John didn't want to talk to him. He missed John and, though he had denied it earlier, he did need John. He didn't know why he needed him, he just knew that he did.

_I have to fix this. I don't know how but I have to._

* * *

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

Review at once if convenient. If inconvenient, review anyway. :D


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this is a bit late but I was sort of busy yesterday so I didn't have time then.

Thanks to everyone who favourited or followed and thanks to Talking to my muffin for reviewing.

Hope you enjoy chapter 6 :D

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I still don't own Sherlock. Maybe next week things will have changed but I doubt it.

* * *

Chapter 6

John collapsed into his chair in exhaustion as he heard the sound of the door finally closing behind the Holmes brothers. _He didn't trust me. Sherlock didn't trust me. He could have told me that he might have to fake his suicide but he didn't._ It hurt. And Sherlock didn't seem to understand that at all. _Of course he doesn't understand. It's Sherlock. He doesn't understand feelings._ That didn't make it stop hurting though.

John was still angry with Sherlock. He'd lied to him about being a fake, he hadn't trusted him, he didn't understand that he'd hurt his feelings, he was just generally being Sherlock! And Sherlock was generally the most irritating person alive. John laughed at that. Alive! Sherlock was alive! John felt relief wash over him accompanied by a sense of elation. There was no cruel person trying to make him go mad, Sherlock really was alive! Ever since Sherlock had 'died' it was what he'd wanted more than anything. He had thought it would take a miracle to bring Sherlock back but he'd been alive all along.

Arleigh's words from two weeks ago came to mind. 'You don't need a miracle.' They'd been trying to tell him ever since that first meeting but he hadn't believed it. John laughed to himself. That was their way of trying to be subtle. He realized that now. _God they really are terrible at this. Although, to be fair, I doubt anyone could deal with this particular situation very well. So being Sherlock it was to be expected that the situation would be handled exceptionally poorly especially where feelings are concerned._

And Sherlock had done it to protect him. That revelation had surprised him. John knew Sherlock had said that he was his friend and he'd known for some time that he would be willing to give his own life for Sherlock's but that Sherlock had faked his own suicide to save him, Mrs Hudson and Lestrade... That had surprised him. Sherlock had been willing to let the world think he was a fake to protect them. Sherlock had cared. Sherlock had actually cared about other people. Sherlock, who had admitted himself that he didn't have a heart. Sherlock, whose last words to him in person had been 'Alone is what I have. Alone protects me.' Sherlock, who had risked his own life to prove that he was clever before. Sherlock had cared enough to ruin his reputation in order to save their lives.

John couldn't help but feel pleased about that. And that made him feel guilty. _I shouldn't feel happy that I was basically the reason why Sherlock faked his suicide. That's not a good thing. That's very 'not good'!_ But he couldn't get rid of the feeling. He meant more to Sherlock than his reputation did! The others too, Sherlock had done it to save them as well. _Sherlock let Moriarty make everyone believe he was a fake so that we wouldn't be killed._ The thought went round and round in John's head. _And then he spent the last twenty-two months 'eliminating the threat'. Oh God, he must have put himself in so much danger doing that._

Worry flooded through John as he thought about all the things Sherlock might have had to do in the last twenty-two months. He had almost certainly been in various life threatening situations whilst trying to 'eliminate the threat'. And probably quite a few just to prove he was clever. _I should have been there to protect him. He was off risking his life without me. He could have gotten himself killed!_ John fumed. _If only Sherlock had told me he was alive I could have been there to protect him because God knows he can't do that himself!_ John's worry was giving him more reason to be angry with the infuriating detective.

_God, he is such an annoying dick._ John thought in frustration. He felt drained. He hadn't slept properly since the first meeting with Arleigh and since the graveyard incident he hadn't gotten more than two hours sleep a night. And then today he'd had to deal with both Mycroft and Sherlock whilst accepting the fact that Sherlock wasn't really dead. John's day had been very taxing and now he was filled with so many different emotions all at once that he felt like he might explode. He'd had enough for today. It was only three in the afternoon and he already wanted to go back to sleep.

John had just made up his mind to go back to bed to try and catch up on missed sleep when the doorbell rang. _Not again._ He thought as he got up wearily to answer the door, wondering whether 'extreme fatigue and irritation' was a valid excuse for murder. He decided that it, regrettably, wouldn't be likely to stand up in court and settled for hoping that whoever was at the door could be dealt with quickly and sent on their way to give him some much needed peace. Unfortunately for John that wasn't going to happen as he quickly realized when he opened the door to see the youngest Holmes standing outside.

"Hello John." Arleigh said as she pushed past him, showing the same lack of interest in normal social etiquette as the younger of her two brothers.  
"_Really?!_ The last thing I want to do right now is talk to another Holmes!"  
"Terribly sorry but I'm not giving you any choice in the matter." Arleigh answered without looking at him as she climbed the stairs two at a time.

John sighed and followed his uninvited guest up to the flat, muttering about how a lack of manners must be genetic. On hearing him enter the living room Arleigh whirled round to face him.

"Okay, you're angry with Sherlock and you have every right to be." Arleigh stated quickly. "But you've missed Sherlock so you're very glad that he's not really dead, although you _do_ wish he'd told you earlier and you feel hurt because you think he didn't trust you. You've tried not to think about him _too_ much over the last twenty-two months and eighteen days since he supposedly died but at the same time you didn't want to completely remove all traces of his existence since they remind you of him."  
"Okay, _how_ did you work that out?"  
"It's obvious. I already told you that Mycroft has surveillance cameras in your flat. I've been watching since Mycroft first got here today. Secondly, the signs of how you've been feeling in the long term are all over your flat. For example, that clock." Arleigh pointed at a clock hanging on the wall. It wasn't anything special, just a basic, circular analogue clock but Arleigh was looking at it as though it explained everything.

"Sorry, how exactly does the clock explain how I've been feeling?" John asked, his confusion evident.  
Arleigh rolled her eyes at him. "The clock was placed to hide something painted on in yellow spray paint. Sherlock sometimes resorts to vandalism when he's bored so it was obviously him who did it. You haven't gotten rid of it because Sherlock was responsible for it and so you don't want it gone completely, but you are hiding it which brings to mind the phrase 'out of sight, out of mind', although it doesn't look to have been very effective at keeping Sherlock 'out of mind' in your case."  
John stared at her in amazement. "You really are Sherlock's sister, aren't you."  
"Of course I am." Arleigh said, looking baffled by the statement. "Why wouldn't I be?"  
"I just meant you're a lot like him."  
"Right." Arleigh said slowly, still looking concerned. "Well, that's not the point of this. The point is that Sherlock doesn't understand why you're still angry with him even if it is extremely obvious, so you'll need to explain it all very bluntly."  
"Hang on! Who says I'm planning on talking to Sherlock at all?"

Arleigh gave John a knowing look before spinning round to leave. She stopped at the door and turned back to speak.

"_When_ you decide you're ready to talk to Sherlock again you can contact him using this number." She said, handing John a piece of paper, then she turned back and left him standing alone in the middle of the living room.

* * *

So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Anything in between? Please review and let me know. Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm really sorry this is late but I've been busy with university application stuff. Next chapter should hopefully be on time :D

Thanks to everyone who followed/favourited and thanks to Pottermerlockedwithasonic, TheLilyReviwer and sdale05 for reviewing :D

To TheLilyReviwer: I'm glad you like the story ^_^ To name Arleigh I researched the names Mycroft and Sherlock and found out that they are both Old English names so I searched for Old English girls names and looked for unusual names that I thought would suit her character.

This is a bit of a filler chapter. It was meant to just be the beginning of the chapter but I enjoyed writing the Holmes sibling argument too much. Also, if anyone's wondering about the Johnlock stuff the first proper mentions are coming up in the next chapter. :D

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Sherlock.

* * *

Chapter 7

We need to talk. Baker Street. 5 PM tomorrow.  
JW

If you're ready to talk why not now? It's been over 2 weeks since we last spoke.  
SH

Mrs Hudson's home. I don't want you giving her a heart attack!  
JW

Why would I give her a heart attack?  
SH

She thinks you're dead!  
JW

And?  
SH

So it would be a shock if you just walked into the flat when you're meant to be dead! Do you remember how I reacted or have you deleted that?!  
JW

Of course I remember. I only delete things that are entirely useless. If we can't meet in the flat now why not somewhere else?  
SH

I'd rather do it in the flat.  
JW

Why?  
SH

Because I would. I'm not going to change my mind Sherlock. Tomorrow. 5 PM. Baker Street.  
JW

Sherlock threw his phone at the sofa in frustration.

"I take it John hasn't agreed to change the date for your little chat then." Arleigh said knowingly from across the room. "I told you he wouldn't."  
"Oh, shut up!" Sherlock snapped back. "It's nothing to do with you anyway, why are you so interested?"  
"Because, Sherlock, he was the first person who you admitted was your friend and you obviously care about him a lot." She paused for a moment in thought. "Maybe more than just caring if Mycroft's right."  
"And what _does_ Mycroft think?"  
"Oh, there's no need to be concerned about it. I'll make sure you know if I think he's right."

Sherlock glared at her. _Why couldn't I have been an only child._ He wondered, not for the first time in his life. _Everything would be so much easier without nosy, meddling siblings._ He purposefully overlooked any time when either of them had done anything useful.

"Now you're wishing that Mycroft and I didn't exist." Arleigh sighed. "You know that I can name numerous occasions when one, or both, of us has helped you. Why even bother?"

Sherlock scowled but continued to ignore his sister in favour of concocting plans to murder his irritating siblings.

"And now you're making detailed murder plans." Arleigh observed. "You're never actually going to carry any of them out though. Oh well, I suppose it's only fair, I've lost count of the various ways that I've come up with to kill you and Mycroft."  
"As thrilling as that sounds, _dear_ sister, I don't care about your plans for fratricide."  
"Oh? They're quite interesting really. I'm sure you'd find them all most entertaining to solve, assuming you were still alive to do so."  
"What? After you attempted to murder me? I'd like to see you try."  
"Oh believe me, if I really wanted to kill you, you would have been dead years ago."  
"How lovely to know. I could say exactly the same to you."  
"I know you could."

"Alright, children, play nicely." Mycroft interrupted. He had managed to enter the room unnoticed by either of his younger siblings much to Sherlock's annoyance. _Should have payed more attention. Shouldn't have got so caught up in a petty argument._ Sherlock berated himself.

"What are you doing here, Mycroft?" Arleigh asked in a bored tone.  
"It has come to my attention that John has asked you to meet him, Sherlock." Mycroft answered, looking at his younger brother although the question had been asked by Arleigh. "I want to make sure you are aware of the benefits of behaving in a grown-up manner so as not to further aggravate John."  
"I'm touched by your concern." Sherlock replied sarcastically. "But I can manage perfectly fine without it."

"No you can't!" Arleigh and Mycroft exclaimed simultaneously. Sherlock glowered at his siblings in response to their lack of faith in his abilities. _I am capable of having a grown-up conversation with John._ He thought indignantly. _Why isn't it legal to murder your siblings?_ His mind wandered back to various poisons, torture weapons and traps.

"You can't ignore us forever." Mycroft said, earning a glare for interrupting Sherlock's train of thought. "And you can stop thinking about ways to kill us! Really, Sherlock, isn't poison a bit mainstream? It's so very obvious."  
"Not at all, Mycroft." Sherlock replied nastily. "Most murderers have a tragically inadequate knowledge of poisons. There are many obscure ones that are rarely used but are much more fascinating and cause a great deal of pain and suffering before the victim finally dies."  
"Are they called brothers by any chance?" Arleigh interjected, not at all bothered by the venomous glares she received in response. "Or, more specifically, Mycroft and Sherlock?"

Sherlock wondered again why he couldn't kill his siblings and promptly started to compose a mental list of the pros and cons of different murder techniques. _Guns - efficient but possibly too quick. Poison - if chosen carefully it could work but I would have to ensure it was consumed by the victims without them noticing, which is inherently problematic given the intended targets. Knife or axe - efficient but potentially boring.  
_  
"As enthralling as your murder plans must be, Sherlock, would you kindly concentrate on what I'm saying?" Mycroft requested, very obviously frustrated.  
"Why should I?"  
"Because you are meant to have a grown-up conversation with John tomorrow and it is vital for your continued relationship that you actually let him explain how he feels."  
"Is that all?" Sherlock asked, sounding bored.  
"_Try_ not to provoke him. I know that's a very difficult feat for you but at least attempt it." Mycroft's tone was a mixture of weariness, irritation and superiority. Sherlock scowled at his brother indignantly.

"As much as I'm loath to admit it he is right, Sherlock." Arleigh said, adding her opinion to the discussion. "You do need to make sure that you don't upset John too much if you want to have a chance at getting him to forgive you."  
"Oh shut up both of you, I didn't ask for your help."  
"Yes you did." Arleigh replied dismissively. "And you know we're right too. Do I need to remind you of how John's been feeling?"  
"You've already told me thirty-seven times in the last two weeks, I think I'm aware by now."  
"Oh really? Because you don't seem to be paying any attention to it."  
"That's because I am perfectly capable of dealing with this without your interference, thank you. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you really?" Mycroft inquired sceptically. "Your behaviour so far would suggest otherwise."

Sherlock turned away from his siblings, sulking. He knew they were right but would rather die than admit it. _How am I ever going to manage a conversation about feelings?_ He wondered. _So far every time we've met since the fall I've managed to infuriate John and all he's done is yell at me. I need John to forgive me. I need him back._ Sherlock wasn't really sure why he needed John so much but he felt like some part of him was missing without John. The last twenty-three months hadn't felt right without him. He remembered his words from years ago. 'I'd be lost without my blogger.' He'd been right. He was lost without John. He just hadn't known quite how lost he'd be.

* * *

Poor Sherlock doesn't understand his feelings. Anyway, what did you think? Please tell me. Reviews make me happy :)


	8. Chapter 8

So here's Chapter 8 and I'm uploading on time for once :D

Thanks to everyone who followed/favourited and thanks to Hichiisai and Talking to my muffin for reviewing.

The actual Johnlock stuff gets started in this chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: No I still don't own Sherlock.

* * *

Chapter 8

The two men sat in silence, neither knowing quite how to start what they both knew would probably be a difficult conversation. Sherlock was staring at John, obviously deducing him. _He's probably working out all the details of everything I've done in the last two years._ John mused. He laughed quietly at the absurdity of the situation and a look of worried confusion appeared on Sherlock's face. _We haven't spoken properly for almost two years and now we have the chance we can't think of anything to say._ He laughed louder and Sherlock's expression became even more concerned.

"Are you alright?" Sherlock asked apprehensively, breaking the silence for the first time since he'd entered the building.  
"Yes, I'm fine." John replied, giggling. Then, seeing that Sherlock was unconvinced, added. "It's just that we both have a lot to say and now we have the chance to talk we're just sitting here in silence. It's ridiculous! We're two fully-grown adults, for God's sake! We should be able to have a proper, grown-up conversation by ourselves."

Sherlock smiled, the anxiety leaving his expression.  
"You're the one giggling like a school girl. It's hardly my fault if you can't act like a grown-up."  
"You're one to talk! You went to Buckingham Palace wearing a sheet just to annoy Mycroft."

They looked at each other and both collapsed into a fit of giggles. _It's good to have you back._ John thought. He kept telling himself to be serious but after everything that had happened in the last month his feelings were too messed up for that.

"I thought you wanted to talk." Sherlock said, finally managing to calm down.  
"Umm... Yes, I did." John said. He was anxious about the conversation but less so than he had been.  
"What did you want to talk about?"

John stared at Sherlock incredulously.

"You really don't know?! Sherlock, you made me think you were dead and then ran off for two years!"  
"Yes, I know _that_. But what exactly do you want to talk about?"  
"Lots of things. I have questions, Sherlock. And you have to answer them properly." John added, recognising the reluctance in his friend's expression. "Why didn't you tell me what was going to happen before you jumped off the roof of Bart's?"

Sherlock stared at John for a while in silence, apparently trying to gauge his possible reaction to the information.

"Just tell me, Sherlock." John said, giving an exasperated groan. "I want the truth, not some lie that you think will make me less angry."  
"I didn't want anyone to know unless they were directly involved in the plan." Sherlock began cautiously. "I didn't know that Moriarty would threaten you. I meant to tell you shortly afterwards but after I found out about the gunmen... It was too dangerous, I didn't want to put you - any of you - at risk."

Sherlock sat back looking self-conscious. John knew he wasn't comfortable with sharing his feelings and it was surprising that he had even been open enough to admit that. _He really does care about my forgiving him if he'll admit to that._ John thought. To most people it wouldn't look like he was making much of an effort but John knew Sherlock and he knew how difficult even this small admission was for the self-proclaimed sociopath.

"Do you need to tell me how you feel?"  
"Sorry, what?!" The question startled John. He'd been deep in thought and this particular question was, coming from Sherlock, extremely unexpected.  
"I was told that you'd want to explain how all this has made you feel." The detective answered uncertainly.  
"Mycroft and Arleigh told you that! Didn't they?!" John exclaimed, suddenly realizing that the, currently absent, siblings must have been nagging Sherlock after the complete failure of their previous meetings.  
"Yes, they haven't left me alone since you texted me yesterday."

John smirked, imagining the situation. He hadn't had the chance to see Arleigh interact with either of her brothers yet but, from his current experience of the woman and what he knew about Sherlock's relationship with his brother, he doubted that Sherlock had been let off lightly.

"I don't see why you find it so amusing." Sherlock said, interrupting John's thoughts. "It was unimaginably tedious. You haven't had to experience my siblings when they're meddling. They are ever so vexingly persistent."  
"I'm sure they are. They're related to you after all."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sherlock frowned petulantly.  
"Well you can be pretty persistent. And very vexing too." John replied. He was surprised by how naturally they had fallen back into easy conversation. John knew there were important things that they should be discussing but he was reluctant to bring any of that up. He knew that they would eventually have to discuss the fall and the misunderstandings between them but right now it just felt good to have his best friend back. Sherlock always did that to him. He could be utterly infuriating and then make John forget all about it.

"Do you want to tell me about how you feel?" Sherlock asked again. The question pulled John out of his reflections and he knew he had to answer it properly this time.  
"Has Arleigh been telling you about my feelings? She was pretty accurate when she told me."  
"Multiple times. Again, it was unimaginably tedious."  
"Do I really need to tell you what you already know then?"

Sherlock stared at John for a moment, obviously startled by his response.

"Don't you want to vent your feelings at me?" He asked in confusion.  
"I think I did that last time to some extent."  
"But Mycroft said..."  
"Since when has Mycroft been the expert on feelings?" John interrupted. "I think I've yelled at you enough already."

Sherlock looked taken aback for a moment before quickly schooling his features into a neutral expression.

"So Arleigh managed to deduce everything you were feeling?" Sherlock asked.  
"Sort of."  
"What didn't she get?"  
"Nothing important." John lied. He didn't necessarily want to admit everything that Arleigh had missed. He still felt guilty about how he was a little bit pleased that Sherlock had been trying to protect him. And Mrs Hudson and Lestrade too, of course.

"I'm glad you're alive." John blurted out after an awkward moment of silence. "It's good to have you back."

Sherlock's face lit up as though he'd just been given an intriguing triple homicide to solve. He grinned at John across the room.

"Does that mean I can move back in?" The detective inquired eagerly, his wide smile contagious.

_I shouldn't just say yes straight away._ John thought to himself. _I can't let him off that easily._ But when the detective was beaming at him like that he couldn't help but give in. John had missed Sherlock being around the flat. He'd even missed all the things he had complained about; the body parts in the fridge, the experiments in the kitchen, the violin playing in the middle of the night... He guessed it was because all those things had meant that his friend was alive and well. They had been reminders that Sherlock was at home, safe and sound. So he couldn't help himself when he just returned the grin and nodded in answer to Sherlock's question.

"Yes, Sherlock, you can."

xXx

Mrs Hudson took the news that Sherlock was alive much better than John had thought she would. She'd definitely been surprised when John first told her but once she'd got over the fact that he was alive she had given Sherlock a proper scolding that left him sulking like a five year-old for hours. Her anger was short lived though and she was more than happy for Sherlock to move back into 221B. She'd even asked if he needed help to move his stuff back before either he or John could bring it up.

Telling Lestrade had been more difficult. John had insisted that Sherlock told him himself, causing Sherlock to spend days petulantly moaning about it before finally realizing that John wasn't going to give in and taking a cab to Lestrade's flat, returning an hour later with a bloody nose and a very shocked Detective Inspector in tow. Eventually John had managed to force Sherlock into explaining the reason why he'd faked his suicide to Greg and it seemed that the inspector was as taken aback as John had been. He'd forgiven him relatively quickly though and had even told John (quietly and well out of Sherlock's hearing range) that he'd try and work on getting Sherlock back on cases for the police whilst still allowing him to keep a low profile. Media involvement hadn't gone too well before so that was something they were all very keen to avoid now that Sherlock was back.

Over the course of settling back into life with Sherlock it occurred to John that Mrs Hudson and Greg had both taken Sherlock's not-so-dead state a lot better than he had. Neither of them had gone into complete denial over it or taken a month to feel ready to have a proper conversation with the detective. He supposed that it was easier for them to accept that Sherlock was really alive because they hadn't actually seen him fall. And whilst they'd both been devastated to have lost him neither of them had been as affected by Sherlock's supposed suicide as John had been. John didn't know what it meant and he didn't think about it much. Except for on the nights when he still woke up from dreams of Sherlock falling and he lay awake with the image of his friend's dead body bleeding out onto the pavement in his head.

xXx

"No, Mycroft, I'm not interested."  
"It is of national importance and international significance, it's vital that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible."  
"Then do it yourself."  
"I'm far too busy to investigate this myself."  
"Then ask Arleigh to do it. Why is she here anyway?"

"I've already agreed to do it." Arleigh replied.  
"Then why are you asking me?" Sherlock snapped at Mycroft, despite his refusal to take the case John could see that Sherlock was annoyed that he hadn't been asked first.

"It is absolutely essential that the case is solved as rapidly as possible." Mycroft explained. "I believe that a result could be achieved far sooner if the two of you collaborated."  
"I can't work with Arleigh!" Sherlock exclaimed, outraged at the prospect.  
"Yes you can. You spent almost two years working with her to destroy Moriarty's crime ring. Or doesn't that count?"

Sherlock scowled, his argument clearly defeated. _Of course, being Sherlock he's not going to admit that Mycroft's right._ John said to himself. _God, he's such a five year old. I hate to imagine what he was like when he was really that age._

"I've given Arleigh the files already." Mycroft said, he obviously knew he'd won the argument. "Goodbye, _dear_ brother. Do keep me informed of how the case goes."

The room was silent until the three occupants heard the sounds of Mycroft leaving the flat, then Arleigh turned on Sherlock.

"Apparent suicide of a senior member of the secret service. It's obviously murder. Mycroft wouldn't tell me the details of the major operations she was involved in immediately before her death due to the sensitivity of the information but it was obviously something to do with leaked information and terrorist activities. In the last three days over half of the agents working on the investigation have either gone missing or been found dead. It sounds very promising to me."  
"Is that all?" Sherlock replied, he had already adopted his 'thinking pose'. "Disappointing lack of detail."  
"I've been on the case for under two hours, Sherlock." Arleigh snapped. "And Mycroft was with me the whole time. I haven't been able to break into his office for more information. Personally I think I've done quite a good job of working out as much as I did. Mycroft only told me about the deaths and disappearances. I challenge you to do better."

"Alright, children." John interrupted. "You can argue about who's cleverer later."

Two identical glares were shot in his direction at the comment and John was, again, struck by the family resemblance. He stared back at the pair waiting for one of them to say something. _God they're as stubborn as each other._ He said to himself.

"Are you going to take the case then, Sherlock?" John asked, turning on his friend. _I know you're interested really. If Arleigh and Mycroft can't solve it immediately then it has to be at least an eight._ "What was it you said about not giving up on a case just to spite your brother?"

Sherlock stared over at him and smirked. The look on his face made John's breathe hitch. Sherlock was gazing at him intently like he was the most interesting puzzle in the world. _When did he get so close?_ John wondered. _I could have sworn he was further away just now._

"You remember what I said." Sherlock replied, still smirking. "You're right though. This does have the potential to be a very good case. I just need to get something." The detective whirled round, running out of the door.

_He really needed a case. He was probably going to start shooting the wall soon._ John thought. Shaking his head in amusement at his friend's antics. Sherlock had moved back into 221B Baker Street a little over a month ago and he hadn't had any cases since. It was obvious that Sherlock had been extremely fed up. Lestrade was still trying to work out how to get him cases without risking the papers finding out that Sherlock was still alive and until they could be sure that they would be able to keep the media in the dark it would be best if no one else found out about Sherlock. Unfortunately for the detective that meant he couldn't visit crime scenes. There were too many people who might recognize him so he'd had to put up with being caseless and growing steadily more bored by the day.

The sound of movement behind him pulled John out of his thoughts. He'd been so caught up that he'd forgotten about their visitor. He turned to face the woman, mentally chiding himself for being rude.

"Sorry, Arleigh. I didn't mean to ignore you. I was distracted..." He trailed off when he noticed the expression on her face.

Arleigh was staring at him. Her, currently, grey eyes were focused and searching. She seemed to be trying to find an answer to some unspoken question and John wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know what that question was. It was unnerving. John was filled with a sense of foreboding. _If she can't find the answers she's looking for there's no way this will turn out well._ John thought to himself as he peered cautiously at Arleigh attempting to work out what it was she was so intent on finding an answer to.

"What exactly are you doing?" John asked finally. Having failed to figure out what the woman was attempting to discover he had accepted the fact that this was the only way for him to find out.

Arleigh continued to examine John for a few moments before sighing in irritation. It appeared that she was getting nowhere with finding an answer.

"I'm trying to answer a question." Arleigh replied thoughtfully.  
"What's the question? Maybe I could help."

Arleigh stared at him for a moment, apparently trying to have one last attempt at solving the puzzle herself. Or else trying to establish what his reaction would be. Finally she answered John and the question was not what he'd been expecting. Not from her. Because she was clever. Very clever. And if even she was asking then perhaps, just perhaps, there was a possibility that she might be right.

"How long have you been in love with my brother?"

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So what did you think? Please review and let me know :D


	9. Chapter 9

Hi, I'm really sorry about how late this is but it took longer than expected to get it finished and it is the longest chapter yet. With the chapters getting longer I can't promise to upload weekly anymore but I will try not to leave it too long and I am not going to forget about the story. Also, I will warn you. I'm introducing a new pairing into the story to go alongside the Johnlock. Should be pretty obvious what the pairing is going to be from this chapter.

Thanks to everyone who has followed/favourited the story and thanks to Hichiisai for reviewing :D

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I still do not own Sherlock :(

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Chapter 9

_Arleigh stared at him for a moment, apparently trying to have one last attempt at solving the puzzle herself. Or else trying to establish what his reaction would be. Finally she answered John and the question was not what he'd been expecting. Not from her. Because she was clever. Very clever. And if even she was asking then perhaps, just perhaps, there was a possibility that she might be right._

_"How long have you been in love with my brother?"_

**xXx**

"I'm umm... Why do you..." John stuttered, gawping at Arleigh. "I'm not in love with Sherlock!"

Arleigh tilted her head to the side, continuing to scrutinise the doctor.

"So Mycroft was right." She muttered, more to herself than to John. "Definitely in denial. Signs are unmistakable though. Definitely lusting after Sherlock. What a horrible thought. Wouldn't be the first though..."  
"I'm sorry but would you please stop that!" John interrupted in an irritated tone. "I am not in denial and I'm certainly not lusting after Sherlock!"

Arleigh gave him an unconvinced look and smiled in amusement. _Isn't he funny? He's so in denial he doesn't even realise it. He was ridiculously affected by Sherlock's proximity. I don't know why he even bothers denying it._

"You're breath hitched when he moved closer to you. You were blushing when he stared at you. You couldn't take your eyes off him and though I wasn't close enough to see, I have no doubt that your pupils were dilated and your pulse was elevated. Mycroft says the two of you used to act like a married couple and from what I've witnessed, you don't appear to have stopped."  
"I am not in love with your brother!" John argued. "Why do people always assume... We're not a couple!"  
"You wish you were."  
"Sherlock's my friend, just my friend! And I don't want him as anything else!"

Arleigh smiled to herself. _He's actually convinced himself that his feelings are platonic._ She thought. _He can't see the facts when they're right in front of him! Not that Sherlock appears to be better off in this particular situation. I'll have to talk to him later. They're both completely hopeless._

"You can deny it all you like, doctor, but that doesn't make it any less true."

"Doesn't make what less true?" Sherlock interrupted, re-entering the room.

Arleigh glanced at John grinning secretively. He looked worried for a moment, his gaze shifting between Arleigh and Sherlock in anticipation.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with just now, Sherlock." Arleigh replied, then glancing at John added. "Although I'm sure John would _love_ to explain."

John glared at her as Sherlock turned towards John, an inquisitive look on his face. John looked at Sherlock, shaking his head in response.

"It's not important. We should umm... start looking at this case."

Sherlock stared at him curiously for moment before accepting that as all the explanation he would get. _Oh he does like him, doesn't he?_ Arleigh pondered. _Sherlock respecting someone's privacy. Now that's unusual._

"Yes, we should be going." Sherlock responded, putting on his scarf and grabbing his coat. "Where was she found?"  
"In her office about two hours ago." Arleigh replied.  
"Brilliant! That means the police won't be there yet to make a mess of things."  
"Does it?" John asked in confusion. "If there's been a murder surely the police will have been involved by now."  
"She worked for the secret service, John. Mycroft will have kept the police out for as long as possible." Sherlock said in exasperation. Then turning to his sister added. "He must have told you just about as soon as he found out."  
"Yes. He went to have a look for himself first though. He must have decided it would take some time to fully understand the whole situation." She responded. "And Mycroft's busy dealing with the American's at the moment so he can't handle it himself."  
"Oh, he told you what he was doing?" John asked. He was visibly surprised that Arleigh seemed to know about whatever top secret business Mycroft was involved in.  
"Of course not. He was especially tired, much more easily annoyed than usual and had obviously already drunk seven cups of tea today." She explained. Then, noticing John's confused expression she added. "Mycroft only drinks that much when he has to deal with the US. Their government annoys him."

"Yes, yes. Enough about Mycroft." Sherlock interrupted in an impatient tone. "We need to get to the crime scene. Mycroft can't keep all the stupid people out of this. They'll be ruining the evidence as we speak." He ran out of the room and down the stairs.

"Come along, John." Arleigh called, turning to follow her brother. "You wouldn't want to keep your boyfriend waiting. Would you?"  
"He's not my boyfriend!" John hissed quietly. "And I'm not in love with him!"

"Hurry up!" Sherlock yelled up the stairs, sounding even more impatient than he had before.

"Where are we actually going?" John asked, following Arleigh downstairs.  
"Headquarters of the British secret service, obviously. Now hurry up!"

**xXx**

The room was well lit and impeccably tidy. There were papers on the desk, all neatly ordered and there didn't seem to be a single speck of dust anywhere in the room. It would have been a very comfortable working environment except for the dead woman lying on the floor. She was smartly dressed in a skirt suit, lying on her side in the middle of the office with a bullet wound in the side of her head and a gun on the floor next to her.

Sherlock crouched down on the floor beside the body, taking out his magnifying glass to start examining her. Arleigh knelt opposite him and studied the woman. The two of them worked silently for about a minute before Sherlock stood and faced John.

"She was in her late forties, bordering on OCD, very meticulous in cleaning and her work, not accident prone, she was extremely careful and rarely hurt herself, happily married for over twenty years with two children; one in university and another taking a gap year." Sherlock stated.

"In short she was rather boring." Arleigh cut in. "Oh and her children are twins. You missed that."  
"Anything else I missed?" Sherlock retorted.  
"She was committed to her job, very patriotic, into that whole 'Queen and Country' thing and quite self-conscious. A job like this, where you aren't supposed to be noticed, suited her."  
"Irrelevant."  
"Not necessarily. Anything we know about her could help." Arleigh responded, receiving a glare from her brother before he turned his attention towards examining the room they were in.

"May I?" John asked, gesturing towards the body.  
"Help yourself." Arleigh answered, standing to get a better view of the office.

"What's out of place?" Sherlock muttered, spinning round the room with his coat flying out dramatically behind him. "There's a clue somewhere here, I know there is. But what is it?"

Arleigh gazed around the room, silently studying the layout and position of every object. _There's something here. Something Sherlock's missing. _She thought. _Where is it? There!_

"Missed it." Arleigh smirked. "It's right in front of you and you missed it."

Sherlock turned to face his sister, frowning irritably at the smug tone she was using.

"What exactly did I miss?" He snapped back.  
"There's a mark on her desk." Arleigh nodded towards the desk. "Very recent. Proof that she wasn't alone when or immediately after she died."

"How does it prove that?" John asked, looking up at Arleigh. "Maybe she just didn't notice it."  
"No, she kept her office scrupulously clean. She would have noticed a mark like that immediately. It's on the desk she worked at after all. She would never have left it there if she was able to do something about it. So it must have been made either after she died or when she was more concerned about her imminent death. Assuming she knew she was going to die, which we know she did."  
"Sorry, how do we know that?" John interrupted.  
"Oh stop being an idiot John." Sherlock replied impatiently. "She was obviously fully aware of what was happening. She was crying when she died."

Sherlock started examining the desk as his sister began looking round the office more carefully._ They've only murdered agents working on this particular case. _Arleigh thought. _Someone didn't want this investigation going on. They must have uncovered something significant. Whoever was here wouldn't have missed the opportunity to have a look at the information. The drawer of the desk hasn't been closed properly. Someone's been snooping._

"John, go and tell someone that they've probably had something stolen." Arleigh ordered. "This drawer's partially open. Someone's been in here."

"What?! Stolen!"

"Yes, John, stolen. Now go and tell Mycroft. He'll probably want to know." Arleigh replied, examining the drawer carefully.

"Why? Couldn't you just text him."

Arleigh gave an overdramatic sigh, turning to glare at John.

"I could but there are too many people in here right now so someone needs to leave. Yes, I'd prefer it if we could ask him to leave." She said nodding to the silent and sullen agent watching over their investigation. "But Mr 'I need to stay and make sure you don't see anything you shouldn't' is, unfortunately, non-negotiable so you'll have to leave instead, John."

Sherlock glowered at her and opened his mouth to argue but Arleigh got there first.

"He can come back straight afterwards, Sherlock. Don't worry. You'll get your blogger back again."

Sherlock scowled at her but remained silent and quietly turned back to continue scrutinising the desk.

"Fine. I'll go." John said, groaning resignedly and grumbling about annoying geniuses on his way out.

"Mycroft was right." Arleigh said smugly once John had left the room.

"Right about what?" Sherlock asked.

"You and John."

"What about me and John?"

"You're in love with him."

Sherlock froze for a moment before turning to stare openly at his sister.

"You don't really believe that. Do you?"

"Believe me. I'm completely serious."

"You're never serious."

"I am sometimes." Arleigh retorted defensively. "And I'm definitely serious about this. You are in love with John."

Sherlock continued to stare at Arleigh. She could see him thinking it through and trying to make sense of what she had just told him. _He knows I'm as clever as he is. He doesn't like to admit it but he knows it's true. He knows that if I believe it he should at least consider the possibility that I might be right._

"That's why you wanted John to leave, wasn't it?" Sherlock stated finally. "You just wanted him out of the way so you could confront me."

"I suppose there is some truth in that. Although there _were_ too many people in here. Too much stupid and it was interrupting my thinking." Arleigh returned to her examination of the drawer. "Whoever was here left in a rush; they were very careful with the murder but they left obvious signs that they were here when it comes to their theft."

"Yes, I noticed that too." Sherlock said, happy to go along with the change in subject. "Our murderer evidently left out of the window in quite a hurry. They even managed to snag their clothing. The material's good quality and could do with further examination."

"So you think we're done here?"

"Yes." He paused then added sarcastically. "Unless you think you can find anything else I've missed."

"Hmm... I don't think so." Arleigh replied considering the statement. "You've done a relatively good job."

Sherlock scowled at her before looking round the room once more._ He's annoyed. _Arleigh thought._ I've insulted his intelligence. Oh, this is so much fun._

"John, there you are. What took you so long?" Sherlock said as John re-entered the office. "We're done here anyway. I need to go to Bart's. I have some experiments to do."

**xXx**

"Ah, Molly, there you are. I need some extra equipment for some experiments, get it for me." Sherlock said as he entered the lab, adding, "Please" when he received a disapproving glare from John.

"Umm... Hello, Sherlock, John... Nice to see you again, seems like forever since you were last here."  
"Don't try to make small talk, Molly, no one appreciates it."  
"Sherlock, behave!" John interjected. "Sorry, Molly, nice to see you too."

"So you're Molly." Arleigh said, following John into the lab. She studied the shorter woman with interest causing Molly to shift uncomfortably under the intense gaze.  
"Umm... Yes... Sorry, who are you?"

Arleigh leaned back against the lab bench, continuing to study Molly.  
"Have a guess." She said, smirking at the woman in front of her.  
"Arleigh." John said in a warning tone but Arleigh ignored him staring at Molly instead.

"Umm... Are you related to Sherlock? You look like him..." Molly guessed uncertainly.

Arleigh's grin grew wider and she let her gaze wander over the pathologist.  
"Yes, I am. He's my brother."  
"Oh!" Molly sounded surprised. "I didn't know Sherlock had a sister."

"You weren't the only one." John said bitterly as he stared at Sherlock, who had been ignoring the whole exchange in favour of starting his experiments.  
"Oh don't be like that, John, you'd never met Arleigh. There was no reason why it would have been necessary for you to know of her existence."  
"Well it might have helped when she turned up to tell me that you were alive!"  
"I didn't know that was going to happen! And before all that it never came up in conversation. It was irrelevant. An insignificant detail."

"Insignificant!" Arleigh exclaimed in obvious outrage. "I'm your sister, Sherlock! I am not an 'insignificant detail'!"  
"It was never of any significance in any conversation I had with John, there was no reason to tell him about you."  
"I know that and I don't care that you didn't tell him about me but I refuse to be referred to as an 'insignificant detail'!"

"Alright, children!" John interrupted firmly, glaring at the two of them. Sherlock returned the glare and turned back to his experiment. Arleigh scowled and turned to face Molly again, continuing her examination.

"Sherlock trusted you." Arleigh said after some time, startling Molly who had been about to leave the room. "But Moriarty didn't threaten you. You seem fairly ordinary; you're single, living alone, a cat owner, only child, bi..."  
"No, she's straight." Sherlock interrupted.  
"No she isn't."  
"Yes she is."  
"No, you've obviously never seen her with a woman she finds attractive before."

Sherlock looked up from his experiment and stared at Molly and Arleigh, looking between the two of them.

"Hmm... I suppose it's possible that you are not entirely incorrect." Sherlock said, rather reluctantly.  
"You mean I'm right." Arleigh replied, her tone very self-satisfied. "And you were wrong."

"Well it would appear that Molly's attraction is mutual." Sherlock responded, changing the subject. "You're showing an abnormal amount of interest in her too."

"Behave!" John yelled. He smiled apologetically at Molly. "Sorry about them. Sibling rivalry. They seem to feel the need to constantly outsmart one another. I pity their parents, it's even worse when Mycroft's around too."  
"Umm... That's ok." Molly mumbled, blushing after all the attention from the two Holmes siblings. "I'll leave you to the experiments."

Molly looked down at the ground and hurried towards the door but was stopped by Arleigh before she made it out of the room.

"You're not the sort of person I'd expect to be a pathologist." Arleigh stated. "Lots of people are traumatised by the job, all those dead bodies. Especially the victims of violent murders. You don't seem like someone who could deal with that yet it doesn't seem to have affected you."

Molly stared at the taller woman in silence as Arleigh continued to observe her.

"And you were the only person who Sherlock trusted to help him fake his suicide."  
"I just happened to be around. I'm not important. I don't matter."

Arleigh gazed at the pathologist with narrowed eyes.

"I think you do matter." She replied finally. "I'm not sure why but you do. You're a puzzle made up of various contradictions. And you are _very_ interesting, Molly Hooper." She winked at the shorter woman, making her blush even more.

"I'll just umm... get that equipment you needed, Sherlock." Molly stammered as she finally managed to leave the room.

"What was that for?!" John blurted out as soon as he was certain Molly wouldn't be able to hear.  
"Nothing." Arleigh replied nonchalantly. "Found anything yet, Sherlock?"  
"That was not 'nothing' Arleigh!" John cut in. "Molly doesn't need someone else manipulating her emotions to get their own way! Sherlock does, I mean 'did', that enough! You don't need to start too!"  
"In what way am I 'manipulating her emotions'?" Arleigh asked innocently.  
"You're making her think you might be interested in her."  
"I am interested in her. She's a puzzle, she's more complex than most people. Much like yourself."  
"Oh." John stopped, blinking at Arleigh in obvious surprise. "But you're not interested in her romantically. Are you?"  
"I'm not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with _anyone_. I really don't understand why people are so obsessed with the idea of being attached like that. People are always searching for a partner. It really is very stupid of them."  
"I suppose you think love is a disadvantage too then." John retorted. "Is the whole of your family completely against the idea of caring?"  
"No. Caring can be extremely motivating. And most of our family take the customary views on love and relationships. I have many Aunts who are constantly trying to match make for me. It's ever so tedious."

John looked at her in bemusement.

"You're impossible." He said at last.

"Not really, John. You just have to get used to me." She smiled innocently. "Have fun with that."

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So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? I'm not a mind reader so please review and let me know :D


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